Adventist Detainees Released from Burundi Prison

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In a brief statement released on May 17, 2019, General Conference President Ted Wilson announced that the Adventists who had been detained in Burundi have now been released. The statement is included here in its entirety:

We have received very encouraging news and are happy to indicate that all Seventh-day Adventist detainees in Burundi have been released. Prayers have been answered. We thank the Government of Burundi for its role and specifically one of its Members of Parliament, Honorable Justin Niyobuhungiro, for facilitating the releases. Thank you to Seventh-day Adventist church members worldwide and others who have been praying earnestly for the detainees, for the church in Burundi, and for the Burundi government leaders. We look forward to continued improvement in this sensitive situation dealing with the church and its governance. We encourage you to keep praying that God will provide for a helpful resolution to the challenges being faced and for peace and prosperity in Burundi.

Further Reading:

General Conference President Ted Wilson Pens Open Letter Alleging Religious Liberty Abuse by Burundi Government, May 14, 2019

Seventh-day Adventist Church Appeals to Burundi Government, May 17, 2019

Commentary: What Seventh-day Adventists Face in Burundi, May 17, 2019

This statement originally appeared on the Adventist News Network.

Image Credit: Wikipedia.org

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This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at http://spectrummagazine.org/node/9635

[niteguy2 (Steve Mga)]

Still doesn’t report on the inside fighting among the leadership of SDAs in
Burundi.
Nothing but perhaps a little prayer.

[efcee]

According to RegionWeek (African web-based information source), the issue has been that warring factions within the Burundi SDA church had been: 1. Using violence to forbid certain pastors from speaking in churches, 2. Embezzling funds collected to build public projects such as a hospital that, after several years, remains unbuilt, 3. Causing disorder and threatening the safety of local citizens in areas where Adventist churches are located.

https://regionweek.com/op-ed-the-seventh-day-adventist-church-of-burundi-in-turmoil-what-is-the-real-problem/

I hope there soon will be an accurate reporting of the situation either by Spectrum or Adventist Today.

[ECCLESIASTES]

As in other well-known instances, TRANSPARENCY seems to be in
short supply at GC headquarters.
Speaking the truth in love is too difficult for some.

[harrpa]

I hope there soon will be an accurate reporting of the situation either by Spectrum or Adventist Today.

Where is our intrepid investigative reporting team?

[c_j_wesn (Carolyn Wesner)]

Sounds like some issues with policy ‘non-compliance’ going on, at least by western standards… Gender-based ordination may be the least of our problems in some parts of the world.